Savings Bonds are registered securities. They cannot be sold to anyone other than the U.S. Treasury and its agent banks. They are not marketable. Some of the consequences that follow from this status is that they can’t be used a collateral for a loan and they can’t be given to anyone without re-registering them. Savings… Read More
U.S. Savings Bonds were created to finance World War I. They were originally called Liberty Bonds. Because U.S. Savings Bonds are issued by the federal government, you do not have to pay state tax or local tax on the interest. Two types of savings bonds that are still available are Series EE and Series I… Read More
One of my favorite charities, Lancaster Yeshiva Center, is competing in the Pepsi Refresh Project – they need votes! Please vote for their idea to renovate an uninhabitable city home while training vocational students: click here to vote
Question: What do you get when you cross the Godfather with a lawyer? Answer: An offer you can’t understand. The nature of our legal system, which is often referred to as a “common law” system, is that it depends heavily on precedent. That means that the outcome in a current case is determined by reference… Read More
An inherited Roth IRA is truly a “gift that keeps on giving.” It is an exceptional estate planning tool. When deciding whether or not to convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, most people (or their advisors) “run the numbers.” The cost and benefits of a Roth conversion is compared to the status quo… Read More
You probably heard that there is no federal estate tax in 2010 (at least so far). But did you hear about carry-over basis? The “basis” of a piece of property is generally the purchase price of that property and is used to calculate taxable gain (or loss) when property is sold. The basis may be… Read More
“Big Daddy… What is it that makes him so big? His big heart, his big belly, or his big money?” – Brick Pollitt, character in the play Last week my husband and I saw Tennessee Williams’ play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” at the Fulton Theatre. The theme of truth vs. mendacity runs through… Read More
How about all those servicemen and women who were overseas on April 15? Do they have to file income tax returns? For federal tax purposes, U.S. Armed Forces include officers and enlisted personnel in all regular and reserve units controlled by the Secretaries of Defense, of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The Coast Guard… Read More
Starting January 1, 2010, there are two important tax changes regarding Long Term Care: 1) distributions from life insurance policies and annuities which have long-term care features are tax-free when used to pay long-term care costs, and 2) both life insurance and annuities can be exchanged tax-free for tax qualified long term care insurance. If… Read More
Pop singer Britney Spears married her childhood sweetheart, Jason Alexander, at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas Saturday morning January 3, 2004 at 5:30 AM. She was escorted down the aisle by a hotel bellman. The bride wore jeans and a baseball hat. 55 hours later, on Monday morning at about 10:00 AM,… Read More